Retaining wall



C. WEBER RETAINING WALL Feb. 11, 1930.

Filed June 4, 1926 Iflll .lllfl I gwuemtoz Carl TVE W4/If,

Patented Feb. 11, 1930 UNITED STATES CARL WEBER, OF JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, ASSIGNOR 10 SHORE-LINE BUILDERS, INC.,

PATENT OFFICE OF JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA RETAINING WALL Application filed .Tune 4,

My invention relates to improvements in bulkheads, such as are principally built for sea or river shore protection, etc., and which are also known under the names of seawalls or retaining walls.

The object of my invention is to build such Y protective walls in an improved manner so that permanent safe and secure structures of this kind can be constructed at a lower cost. This I accomplish by fabricating interlocking premolded reinforced concrete posts and slabs which are held in their final position by engagement with steel, concrete, or wooden foundation piles.

' every pile absolutely true to plumb and center lines, as is required in any construction in which the slabs or panel plates are afterwards inserted in supporting grooves of the piling, I construct the bore of each post cap or sleeve of greater dimensions than the pile on which it is placed, so that the necessary adjustments can easily be made. After these adjustments to line, plumb and distance have been made, the postcap is cemented into place by filling the space between it and the pile with concrete.

The resulting bulkhead post thus forms a combination of the foundation pile, the premolded reinforced concrete cap and the cement core in such a manner that all of these parts are combined into one rigid, strong and securely supported post which is so correctly located that the placing of the premolded slabs or panels in the grooves provided for this purpose is a simple procedure.

The advantages of this method of bulkhead construction are that,

First-The foundation pile itself alone is driven to the required depth or to the specified resistance.

Second-Any desired kind or form 0f piling can be used for this purpose.

Third- The piling is cut, after being placed to the established height regardless of the driven length or penetration and without any danger of later settlement.

Fourth-Correct location of each post true to line and center is subject to easy adjustment without any strain to the driven pile and under complete elimination of all cutting, straining, or trimming of either the preniolded piercap or the premoldecl slab.

Fifth-No driving stresses or impacts are imposed upon the premolded concrete parts or to the core filling. Such impacts have a tendency to shatter, break or loosen the concrete parts and also to loosen the bond between the steel reinforcement and the surrounding concrete.

Sixth-The final concrete core filling not only holds the postcap securely in its proper place but also seals the steel, wooden, or concrete pile completely against deteriorating actions of water, air, etc., thus assuring greatest possible permanency.

Seventh- The final fitting of the premolded slab sections into the perfectly adjust-ed post grooves is easily accomplished without any straining, twisting or trimming of the premolded concrete sections so that the entire bulkhead is only exposed to the stresses, due to earth pressures, etc., for which it actually has been designed and which are easily determined by well established methods of computation. Therefore, a much greater actual factor of safety is obtained than if internal stresses of unknown quantity are introduced.

Eighth-Owing to the simplicity of the method, to the ease with which the different parts are assembled, to elimination of waste in design and construction, a great saving of cost is accomplished.

In constructing the wall of the present invention, therefore, the piles, regardless of their final length, are driven to a uniform, predetermined carrying capacity or load resistance, and are subsequently cut o, if

necessary, to bring their tops into the desired plane.

Itis a well known fact that it is practically impossible to drive any foundation pile (regardless of what form or material and of whether drophainmers, steainhammers, or jet-ting methods are employed) so correctly to line, plumb and center that each one of the heavy, uniformly long and truly squared slab sections will properly enter into the closely fitting grooves provided in the posts for this purpose. If one post is in the least bit, even only a fraction of an inch, out of line or out of plumb, the slab can only be brought down under application of great force. If the post is inthe least twisted or out of line the fittingof the slab cannot be accomplished without cutting of the grooves or slab ends.

This not only causes great delays and additional cost in the assembly of the bulkhead, but also introduces internal stresses that are not intended and which are, in fact, beyond any calculation. The cutting of the concrete sections for fitting purposes also weakens these parts just in the joints where preserving of the strength is of utmost importance.

The method of construction for a bulkhead in accordance with my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 represents a front view or elevation of the finished bulkhead.

Figure 2 represents a vertical cross section through one of the slabs and the coping of the finished bulkhead.

Figure 3 represents an enlarged horizontal cross section through the grooved postcap showing the location of a steel sheet pile in the center of the same.

Figure 4 is a vertical section through a postcap in place on a pile.

In these views, the foundation piles 10, shownas a common form of rolled sheet steel but which may be of any other shape and material, are driven until they offer a certain predetermined resistance, after which they are cut off to bring their tops to a common level. Meanwhile the reinforced concrete post caps 11 and the slabs 12 are made in accordance with the estimated dimensions. These parts may also ybe made of other material, such as cast iron.

Thedriving of each pile to a specified refusal, regardless of whether the actual driven length is more or less: than has been assumed after previous soundings, and cutting it oiff square at the correct height, is a great improvement over the ordinary practice by which the length of the pile is fixed before hand and where the adjustment to the proper height is made by stopping the driving process when the top of the pile has been brought to the required level. It is evident that, as

`each pile is meeting with a different driving resistance, each pile will consequently have a different carrying capacity and, therefore, uneven settlements are the natural result. By my method of fixing the carrying capacity of each pile, regardless of actual length of piling required, such uneven settlements and consequent impairment of the bulkhead are made impossible. This is of vital importance for all bulkheads built for shore protection because changing water levels, backwash, eX- treme tides, settlement and change in satura tion of backiill are liable to change stability conditions so that only piles driven to uniform refusal are safe against sinking.

Uien the piling has been cut on top to the proper height the premolded concrete postcaps 11 are hoisted over the top of the piles and lowered vertically so that the pile is in the center of thebore of the cap and the latter securely rests on top of the pile on the slioulders 13 shown in Figure 4. An opening 14 is left in the top of the cap of sufficient size to permit the pouring of the cement filling 15 after the required adjustments have been made.

The adjustments of the postcap, true to center, plumb and line, are simply made by shifting and turning the cap in the desired direction until its true position has been established. This is easily determined by special teinplets or guide lines. The shifting of the cap is made possible by making the hollow core section surrounding the pile sufficiently large.

Vhen the postcap has been adjusted and its final position has been fixed by temporary braces or the like, the remaining open spaces of the bore, for the entire depth of the same, are illed with a rich plastic waterproof concrete or mortar mixture 15 which is poured and tamped in place.

After this concrete core filling has sufficiently hardened the premolded reinforced concrete slabs 12 are lowered in the vertical grooves 16, Figures 2 and 4:, until they rest on the shoulders 17 at the bottom of said grooves.

Then the joints 18, Figure 3, are filled with cement mortar, with the exception of such joints which may be left open, at certain intervals, to provide for expansion and contraction under temperature changes.

Then the anchors 19, coping 20 and other desired appliances and attachments are put in place and the bulkhead is ready for the backilling and to serve the purpose for which it is intended.

It should be noted that the vertical ends 21 of the slabs 12 are beveled andthatthe grooves 16 in the post caps 11 are correspondinglyV formed with inclined bottoms. This is done for the purpose of reducing the shearing stresses (due to the earth pressure of the backfill behind the wall) on the front lip of the grooves, by transferring the principaly pressure to the heavy body of the post itself.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is z l. A retaining wall, comprising a row of metal piles, a concrete cap on each pile, each cap, having a bore of greater dimensions than the pile and extending up nearly to the top of the cap from which pointl a smaller opening extends up to the top of the cap, whereby an internal shoulder is formed in said cap, to bear on the top of the pile, saidbore and opening being filled with cement, said caps having grooves in their vertical sides, and concrete slabs cemented in said grooves.

2. A retaining wall, composed of a row of metal piles driven to a uniform resistance and having their tops in the same horizontal plane, a concrete cap, having a bore of greater dimensions than the pile extending up to a point near the top of the cap and an opening of smaller dimensions extending from said point to the top of the cap, whereby an internal shoulder is Jformed within the cap, set over each pile and resting thereon by its said shoulder, said boreh and opening being filled with cement, said caps also having vertical grooves with inclined bottoms in their sides, and concrete slabs with inclined ends set in said grooves with cement between them and the sides and bottoms of said grooves.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CARL WEBER. 

